ARIA'S POV
I wake up cradled against something warm and solid.
My first thought is that I'm being carried. My second thought is that whoever's carrying me smells incredible—like thunderstorms and wild forests and safety.
My eyes flutter open.
Silver eyes stare down at me. The most beautiful, terrifying silver eyes I've ever seen.
"Easy, little Luna," a deep voice rumbles. "You're safe now."
Safe? I'm being held by a stranger—a massive, scarred stranger who just threatened to kill my entire pack.
I should be terrified.
But the golden thread connecting my heart to his pulses with warmth, and my instincts are screaming MATE so loudly I can barely think.
"Who are you?" My voice comes out hoarse.
"Thane Silvercrest." His arms tighten around me protectively. "Your mate. One of three."
Three. Right. Because apparently my life wasn't complicated enough already.
I try to sit up, but pain shoots through my entire body. I gasp, and Thane immediately freezes.
"Don't move. You're badly hurt."
"Put me down," I say, even though part of me wants to stay exactly where I am.
"No."
The word is flat. Final. Like he's not even considering any other option.
"I'm not asking permission," I snap, surprising myself. "I said put me down."
Something flickers in those silver eyes—surprise? Amusement? Then, slowly, he sets me on my feet.
My legs immediately buckle.
Thane catches me before I hit the ground, and I hear him growl softly. "Stubborn."
"Independent," I correct, even though I'm now clinging to his arms just to stay upright.
A low chuckle comes from my left. The shadow man—Ryker—watches us with those completely black eyes. "I like her already."
"She's been rejecting people for exactly three minutes and already causing trouble," the blue-eyed one—Caspian—adds with a slight smile. "Definitely our Luna."
I look around, finally taking in my surroundings. We're still in the sacred grove, but it looks like a battlefield. Trees are splintered. The ground is cracked. Pack members are scattered everywhere, most still on their knees, unable to stand.
Because of me. Because of my scent and power that I didn't even know I had.
Kael is sprawling on the ground, clutching his throat where Ryker had him pinned. His eyes meet mine, and for the first time ever, he looks afraid.
Good. Let him be afraid.
"Aria." My father's voice. He's managed to push himself to his hands and knees, though his head is still bowed. "You need to come home. We'll figure this out—"
"Home?" I laugh, and it sounds bitter even to my own ears. "You mean the pack that called me weak my entire life? The father who never defended me? That home?"
He flinches. "I'm still your Alpha—"
"You're not MY anything," I say, and power ripples through the words.
Several wolves whimper. My father drops flat again, unable to resist the command in my voice.
I didn't even mean to do that. But it felt... good.
Elder Moira struggles to her feet, using a nearby tree for support. She's the only pack member who seems able to move freely.
"Aria, child," she says gently. "Do you understand what's happening to you?"
"Not really," I admit. My head is spinning. "One minute I'm dying from rejection. The next, I have three new mates who are apparently ancient legends, and everyone is bowing to me."
"You're the True Luna," Moira explains. "The first female born with the Original Bloodline in over a thousand years. You're meant to rule beside the Ancient Alphas and unite all the wolf packs."
I stare at her. "I can't even tie my own shoes without tripping. How am I supposed to rule anything?"
Thane's hand settles on my lower back, steadying me. "You'll learn. We'll teach you."
"We don't have time for this," Ryker interrupts, his black eyes scanning the crowd. "Half this pack wants her dead, and the other half wants to use her. We need to leave. Now."
"I'm not going anywhere until someone explains—" I start to protest.
Caspian's eyes flash white. He gasps, swaying slightly.
"What?" Thane demands. "What do you See?"
"Danger," Caspian breathes. "Coming fast. They've called for reinforcements from allied packs. Twenty warriors, armed with silver weapons and wolfsbane darts. They'll be here in minutes."
My father's head shoots up. "I didn't authorize—"
"I did." Celeste's voice is cold and clear. She's managed to slip to the edge of the clearing while everyone was distracted. "Did you really think I'd let you take her? She's the key to everything. With her bloodline, Lyanna can become—"
"You'll never touch her again," Thane says quietly.
The temperature drops. Shadows explode from Ryker's body, reaching toward Celeste like grasping hands.
"Going somewhere?" Ryker asks.
Celeste screams as the shadows wrap around her, dragging her back to the center of the grove.
"Please!" she begs. "I can help you! I know how to remove the seals I placed on her—"
"We don't need your help," Caspian says flatly. "I can See where every anchor is buried. Ryker can extract them with shadow magic. You're useless to us."
"Then kill me if you're going to," Celeste snarls. "But you'll regret—"
"We're not killing you," Thane interrupts. "Death would be too kind. Instead, you'll live knowing you failed. That the girl you spent twenty-two years breaking is now the most powerful Luna alive. That your daughter will never be what Aria is."
It's the cruelest punishment I've ever heard. And I love it.
"The warriors are getting closer," Dante warns. He's been silent until now, standing guard at the grove's edge. "Two minutes out."
"Then we go." Thane looks at me. "Can you shift?"
"I don't have a wolf, remember?" The bitterness in my voice surprises me.
"You do now," Caspian says softly. "The rejection broke the primary seal. Your wolf is there, waiting. You just need to call her."
"I don't know how—"
"Close your eyes," Thane commands gently. "Feel inside yourself. She's been caged your whole life, but she's free now. Call to her."
I want to argue that this is crazy. But I close my eyes anyway.
At first, there's nothing. Just darkness and pain and exhaustion.
Then I feel her.
A presence inside me that's always been there, sleeping. Waiting.
Hello, I think tentatively.
FINALLY, a voice growls in my mind. I've been waiting FOREVER to meet you.
My wolf. I have a wolf.
Joy explodes through me so intense it brings tears to my eyes. I'm not broken. I was never broken.
Want to run? I ask her.
YES.
Power surges through my body. Bones crack and reform. Pain, but different from before—this is the pain of becoming whole.
I shift for the first time in my life.
When I open my eyes, the world looks different. Sharper. More colorful. I look down and see silver paws.
I have a wolf. I have a WOLF.
You're beautiful, Thane's voice says in my mind, and I realize he's shifted too. A massive silver wolf stands beside me, easily twice my size.
Two more wolves appear—one with shadows clinging to his black fur, one with glowing blue eyes.
Ready to run, Luna? Ryker asks.
Before I can answer, arrows whistle through the air.
Silver-tipped arrows, aimed directly at me.
Thane moves faster than thought, knocking me aside. An arrow grazes his shoulder, and he snarls in pain.
Twenty warriors burst into the grove, weapons raised.
"Surround the omega!" their leader shouts. "The Alpha wants her alive!"
Which Alpha? I ask through the pack link.
Then I see him pushing through the warriors.
Kael.
"Aria, please," he calls out. "Come home. I made a mistake. We can fix this—"
"You can't fix THIS," I snarl, and my voice comes out as a growl.
Thane positions himself between me and the warriors. Get behind us. Now.
I'm not hiding—
ARIA. All three of my mates' voices slam into my mind at once. We just found you. We're not losing you. Get. Behind. Us.
The love and desperation in their voices makes my chest tight.
I move behind them.
The four Ancient wolves—Thane, Ryker, Caspian, and Dante—form a protective circle around me.
"Last chance," Thane says to the warriors. "Leave. Now."
The leader laughs. "Four against twenty? You're outnumbered—"
He doesn't finish the sentence.
Because Ryker's shadows explode outward, and suddenly the clearing is pitch black.
Screams. The sound of fighting. Snarls and growls and the smell of blood.
When the shadows clear ten seconds later, all twenty warriors are on the ground, unconscious but alive.
Ryker didn't even shift to human form. He took down twenty trained fighters in seconds.
Kael stands alone, staring at the carnage in shock.
"Still think we're outnumbered?" Dante asks mildly.
We need to go, Caspian urges. More are coming. Many more.
Then we run, Thane decides.
He gently grabs me by the scruff—the way wolves carry pups—and runs.
The world blurs as we race through the forest at impossible speeds. My pack's territory disappears behind us.
I should be terrified. I'm being kidnapped by ancient predators who could kill me with one bite.
But the golden threads connecting us pulse with warmth and protection.
And for the first time in my life, I feel safe.
Where are we going? I ask.
Home, Thane answers simply.
The Forbidden Wildlands, Caspian adds. Where no modern wolf can follow.
Our den, Ryker finishes. Where you'll be protected. Healed. Worshipped as you deserve.
My heart races, but not from fear.
We run for what feels like hours until the forest changes. The trees grow taller, older, wilder. The air feels different—charged with ancient magic.
Finally, we stop at the base of a mountain.
Thane sets me down carefully and shifts to human form. "Welcome to your new home, Luna."
I shift back too, suddenly aware that I'm completely naked.
My face burns.
All three males notice, and to my surprise, they all look away respectfully.
"Dante," Thane orders. "Get her something to wear."
But I'm not looking at them anymore.
I'm staring at the cave entrance behind them.
Because I can feel something inside. Something powerful and ancient and waiting.
"What is that?" I whisper.
Caspian's eyes glow. "Your destiny."